WWF invests in conservation agriculture

SHIKANDA KAWANGA, Lusaka
THE World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has invested US$300, 000 to provide 3,000 farmers with extension services and technical support to venture into conservation agricultural practices in Western Province.
WWF Zambia country director Nachilala Nkombo said the majority of the beneficiaries are women, who are leading in food production.
Ms Nkombo said in an interview on Thursday that the women have been able to sustain their families.
“There is a larger number of women who are successful compared to men. There are a lot of economic activities that they get involved in because the majority get involved to sustain their families because of poverty,” she said.
Ms Nkombo said WWF has been supporting these farmers with extension services as well as technical support.
She said farmers have been able to adapt to agricultural practices that are resilient to climate change.
Ms Nkombo said this has brought about the harvesting of climate resilient seeds that can withstand any weather changes.
“We also help farmers with post-harvest storage facilities,” she said.
Ms Nkombo said part of the technical assistance the organisation is offering to farmers is to increase and improve the agricultural practices.
She said the project will soon be scaled up to other farmers so that the organisation can also explore ways in which it can link the farmers to markets.
Ms Nkombo said women should be proactive in identifying income- generating activities that are environmentally friendly.
She said the country is currently not on a path of sustainability hence the need for women who are in the majority to step up their efforts.
“Women should identify economic activities by use of natural resources in a sustainable manner, results so far have been exceedingly positive and, with time, we anticipate having more farmers in Zambia practising conservation agriculture,” she said.